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Christine Fonseca’s latest action-packed, heart-pounding
thriller COLLIDE, explores the world of psychic warfare with a new twist!

Summary from Goodreads:

The most dangerous
secrets are the ones that kill.When a surprising mental breakdown draws too much attention from a secret
government group call the Order, 17-year-old Dakota discovers that her
so-called boring life isn’t so boring after all. Between the lies, secrets and
assassins out to kill her family, Dakota discovers there’s more to paranormal
activity than ghosts and cheap mind tricks. Now she must uncover the truth
before a new breed of terrorism takes everything away – including her life.

Buy Links:

“Collide
is a fast moving, suspenseful thriller full of twists and turns around every
bend. An action packed read that will have your heart slamming in your chest
and your mind racing until the end.”

Critically acclaimed nonfiction and YA author Christine Fonseca is
dedicated to helping children of all ages find their voice in the world. In
fiction, she explores the darker aspects of humanity and delivers gothic
thrillers that take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

In addition to writing, Ms. Fonseca is a frequent presenter and trainer
on subjects ranging from writing to behavior and understanding the unique needs
of gifted children. She blogs regularly on many sites and participates in
events throughout the country. See the News/Events page for upcoming events.

When Christine isn’t crafting her next book and working with kids,
she can be found sipping too many skinny vanilla lattes at her favorite coffee
house or exploring the world with her family.

“For your vanity, your cruelty, and your cold unfeeling heart, a curse I leave upon you . . .” What happens if the beauty is also the beast? The stunning Beatrice Cavanaugh is considered American royalty. She has everything except the ability to love. Cursed on her eighteenth birthday, she becomes more beastly than ever, having a newfound craving for raw meat, and an undeniable yearning for the night. Bitterness is her only companion. After accusing a maid of stealing, a disgustingly kind and exquisitely handsome guy named Adam shows up asking Beatrice to drop the charges against his mother. Infuriated by his goodness, Beatrice vows to break him. Destroy him. Make him hurt the way she hurts. So she agrees. On one condition: Adam must take his mother’s place as a servant in the mansion. Because Beatrice won’t stop until he’s more beastly than she is.

RaShelle Workman is an international bestselling author. She writes fractured fairytales with bite and young adult science fiction that’s out of this world. RaShelle likes cherry pie, movies, family adventures, and chocolate. If you want to get on her good side, send chocolate. RaShelle’s sold more than 500,000 copies of her books worldwide. Sleeping Roses, Exiled, Beguiled, and Dovetailed have foreign rights contracts with a Turkish publisher. RaShelle is also one of the co-founders of Indie Recon LIVE. Her books include: Sleeping Roses Exiled Beguiled Dovetailed Blood and Snow (1-12) The Cindy Chronicles Vampire Lies (Blood and Snow Season 2) Short stories: Cindy Witch The Hunter’s Tale Gabriel After the Kiss Zaren’s Travels Visit www.rashelleworkman.com to join RaShelle’s EXCLUSIVE mailing list and be entered to win a signed paperback copy of Blood and Snow volumes 1-4 (Special Edition). And be sure to like her Facebook page for all the latest news: https://www.facebook.com/rashelleworkman.

Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She’s finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam’s life.

My Thoughts:

Why did I pick up this book?

I read the first book, Shatter Me earlier in April this year and it was the Book of The Month for one of the Goodreads groups which I was in. And I really enjoyed it. Check out my review of Shatter Me here. Since Unravel Me is on my iPhone, i decided to read it and Tahereh Mafi did not disappoint me.

The Plot:

Shatter Me left us with Adam and Juliette in Omega Point where we learn that the people there are like Juliette with powers. So, Juliette is trying to adjust in the new environment but she’s not doing as well as Adam. Juliette took Kenji’s jokes pretty seriously and I kind of felt Juliette was kind of short-tempered back then. So when Juliette was out on her mission to steal supplies, she had an short encounter with Warner and she just stunned there not knowing that she is exposed. And then Kenji realized what was going on and brought Juliette into hiding. I’m not going to spoil you guys so that’s what happen in the first part of the book. The second part gets even better with plot twists and I just cant seem to put the book down then. Its like every minute is crucial and I have this urging need to know what will happen next and after reading this installment, I’m officially Team Warner.

The Characters:

I love how well the characters played their roles in this book. I really feel connected to everyone of them and it was as if I was looking from their POV. I really like how Kenji woke Juliette from her delusions and I felt what he did was really brave of him. And Juliette did not deny what Kenji said cause deep inside she knows that Kenji was spot on. Juliette and Adam’s relationship was really under pressure and I suddenly they don’t seem as compatible with each other as in the first book. Now it seems that Warner is really the one meant for Juliette.

The writing:

Tahereh Mafi’s writing is just beautiful. I love the words used in Juliette’s diary. Its just too beautiful and soo relateable. How I wish I have one book just containing what Juliette wrote in her diary. Its like the writing is flawless and it did not seem too abrupt and it fir perfectly well with the plot.

As soon as the government passed legislation allowing humans to be genetically engineered and sold as pets, the rich and powerful rushed to own beautiful girls like Ella. Trained from birth to be graceful, demure, and above all, perfect, these “family companions” enter their masters’ homes prepared to live a life of idle luxury.

Ella is happy with her new role as playmate for a congressman’s bubbly young daughter, but she doesn’t expect Penn, the congressman’s handsome and rebellious son. He’s the only person who sees beyond the perfect exterior to the girl within. Falling for him goes against every rule she knows…and the freedom she finds with him is intoxicating.

But when Ella is kidnapped and thrust into the dark underworld lurking beneath her pampered life, she’s faced with an unthinkable choice. Because the only thing more dangerous than staying with Penn’s family is leaving…and if she’s unsuccessful, she’ll face a fate far worse than death.

For fans of Keira Cass’s Selection series and Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden series, Perfected is a chilling look at what it means to be human, and a stunning celebration of the power of love to set us free, wrapped in a glamorous—and dangerous—bow.

“Remember… You’ll never be one of them,” Miss Gellner said, repositioning each of us on our divans in the sitting room so our gowns draped elegantly around our crossed ankles.

She stepped back and gazed at the group of us, her face pinched and stern like always, but I spotted a tiny glimmer of pride behind her rheumy eyes. Twenty girls: lovely, demure, quiet. She was pleased with us, even if she wouldn’t say it out loud.

Miss Gellner blinked, as if bringing herself back to the moment. “Things won’t change once you leave here,” she went on. “Simply because you’ll be pampered and spoiled, your life’s mission won’t suddenly be any different. Remember that. Your sole purpose is to enrich the lives of your new owners.”

As she said this, she lightly tapped her bamboo training stick against my back, not a hard whack the way she had done relentlessly when we first transferred from the Greenwich Kennel to the training center, where she and her staff could cultivate us into the sort of girls we were bred to be. This was just a warning tap, reminding me to sit so that my spine was a stem, and I was the flower resting atop it.

It was a pose we’d practiced daily for the past four years; during music and etiquette and dining, even during our nightly baths. But the fluttering in my stomach distracted me, drawing me down into myself. My whole body felt fluttery: my hands, my feet, even my eyes. I worried that the moment the two grand doors leading to the reception room swung open, I might flap away; a feather caught on the wind.

Next to me, Seven bit nervously at her bottom lip. It was weird to think that by tonight she’d have a new name, a real one. The breeders at Greenwich assigned us numbers as names at conception: One through Twenty, since twenty was the maximum number of girls they were allowed to have each year. I was Eight, but not for much longer. By tonight, I could be anything.

Across the room, Miss Gellner took a few steps towards the grand wooden doors, resting her hand lightly on the knob before she turned to face us one last time.

“I want you to keep your composure when they come in. I’ve spent four years preparing you for this moment.” She thumped her training stick on the ground for emphasis. “Four years. Don’t waste them. Each move that you make, every turn of your head and pout of your lip speaks to my effectiveness as a trainer and I won’t have that work tarnished. When I open these doors, I expect you to remember all the things I’ve taught you.”

The stiff lining of my dress rubbed against my rib cage and I ached to shift to a more comfortable position, but I held still, staring straight ahead at Miss Gellner with a soft smile placed carefully on my lips.

“Be sure to hold your tongues,” she went on. “You are not doing the selecting. Do not ask questions. Speak if spoken to, but keep your answers brief. We don’t want to scare away a potential buyer with a girl who has too forward a notion of who’s in charge.”

Beside me, the other girls were sitting silently. We were perfectly trained, all of us. And lovely, too. In our new dresses, we looked like royalty. Miss Gellner had picked out a different shade of gown for each of us, our first piece of clothing that was distinctly ours. She’d deliberated long and hard on the color choices. She wanted us each to look different. It wouldn’t do for the customers to think they were getting cloned girls even though there were plenty of differences between us to set us apart. Yes, we all had large eyes, spaced perfectly on our heart shaped faces. We all had small noses, long, thin necks, and rose petal lips. But we each had distinct coloring. Seven’s hair was nearly black. Sixteen’s eyes were green, the color of fresh summer grass, and Twenty’s skin was the same warm brown of the toasted bread that we were rewarded with on Sunday mornings. We were unique. One of a kind.

I was happy with the dress Miss Gellner had chosen for me. It was the palest shade of blue, hardly a color at all. These dresses would be the only item that would accompany us to our new homes. Our new owners would provide everything else.

“We’re lucky to have a number of congressmen and senators here today,” Miss Gellner went on. “Power, prestige, wealth, you’ll be surrounded by the best, which is why it is important that you be the best.” Miss Gellner sighed, nodding her head once. “All right girls. It’s time.”

She turned and threw open the doors. “Ladies… Gentlemen…” her voice boomed as she glided into the next room. “If you’ll kindly follow me, I’ll show you to the sitting room. You’ll have a chance to look over each of the girls before you make your decision. As I told each of you over the phone, the number on your tag will determine the order of selection.”

A moment later a stream of bodies and voices flowed into the room. I drew a breath and held it, trying to compose myself, but the fluttering inside me only grew worse. My vision blurred as the men and women pressed closer, talking loudly to one another.

An older man grabbed a lock of my hair and rubbed it between his fingers. “Like corn silk,” he said to the woman next to him. “Did you say you were hoping for a blond or a red head? This one almost seems like a mix of the two.”

“And it does have beautiful eyes. Look, they’re practically turquoise,” she crooned. “But, I was hoping for a real red head. There’s an auburn one over there we should look at.”

I didn’t dare turn my head to watch them walk across the room to look at Ten.

A middle-aged couple finished looking at Seven and circled around me. I blinked a few times, finally bringing my eyes back into focus as the man’s dark eyes skated over me. He was obviously quite a bit older than me, but his jaw was much stronger than the other men I’d seen so far and his eyes were bright. A sprinkling of gray hairs dusted the dark hair at his temples. The woman beside him had probably been a beauty when she was younger, but now she was a different sort of beautiful: regal and refined. She was tall, even taller than Miss Gellner, with high cheekbones, a strong jaw, and long arched brows perched overtop piercing blue eyes. Even though she had lines around her eyes and mouth, her hair was almost as dark as Seven’s, without a hint of gray. Everything about her intimidated me.

“Now this has some promise,” the man said, looking into my eyes. “Do you like this one?”

“Oh, John, do we really need to do this?” The woman sighed, her eyes drifting around the room.

“Do what, Darling?”

“You can cut it with the ‘Darling’, too. It’s not like anyone’s listening. They’re busy choosing their own pets,” she said, gesturing towards the rest of the people in the room with an elegant sweep of her arm. “And you can stop pretending I have any say in your precious little project. You know I couldn’t care less about getting her.”

Her husband stepped forward, so close their bodies almost touched. “You know how it looks for us not to have one, don’t you? After all the time I spent getting this bill to pass. People are saying things. You don’t want them to think—”

She took a step away from him, eyeing an old man who had turned his attention to their conversation. “Whatever you say, Dear,” she interrupted. “I’m merely along for the ride.”

“You can’t argue that Ruby needs this,” the man said. “We agreed.”

Her face softened. “I know.”

He took a deep breath, and when he turned back to me, it was as if he’d flipped a switch, changing his face back to the same well-groomed look of prominence and stature I’d seen on it to begin with.

“Stand up and give us a little whirl, Love,” he said to me.

I hadn’t anticipated the weakness in my legs, but I stood and turned slowly, the way I learned in my Poise lessons. I kept my chin up, neck elongated, my arms held out ever so slightly from my sides as if my hands were brushing the skirt of a tutu.

The man smiled once I faced him again. “And what are your talents? The Kennel Trainer said that you each specialized in two.”

“My talents are piano, dance, and singing. Although my vocal range is not as diverse as some.”

His forehead creased, his eyes narrowing, and my stomach flipped. If Miss Gellner had been standing next to me, she would have lashed me with her stick. We’d practiced our lines over and over and still I said it wrong. There hadn’t been any need for me to point out my faults so blatantly. I should have only mentioned the piano and dance and not said anything about the singing. I was trying too hard to impress.

“Three talents?” he asked. “Marvelous. I suppose We’d be getting a little bit more bang for the buck if we go with you then, isn’t that right?”

The man’s phrasing confused me and I lowered my eyes to the ground and smiled softly the way we’d been taught to do if we ever didn’t know how to answer a question.

“So which is your favorite?”

“Favorite?” I asked.

“Which one do you like the most?”

“I’m quite good at all three as long as the song I’m singing is written for a mezzo soprano.”

“But certainly you have a favorite?”

My mind raced, trying to think over all the scenarios we’d spoken about like this one in our Conversation class, but I drew a blank. Those classes were meant to help us understand our new owner better, not to help them understand us. I couldn’t come right out and tell him that I had a favorite. Miss Gellner would be outraged. Maybe I could try to change the subject? But then he might realize I was doing it to avoid his question, and he would know that I really did have a favorite.

She raised her hands and took a step back without saying another word.

The man tried again. “What I mean to say is: which one of your talents do you prefer? Is there one that makes you particularly happy?”

I swallowed, hoping to push down the rock that had lodged itself in my throat. “Well sir, if there’s one that you prefer, I’m sure I’d be delighted to perform for you.”

The man sighed and shook his head. “Never mind. Why don’t you sit back down?”

I smiled once more and sank back onto the divan, trying to hold my head high even though my eyes burned.

For the next hour, the groups of men and women circled around the room. They were all so much bigger than I’d imagined they’d be, not only in their physical stature, but their presence, as if the room couldn’t contain them. They gobbled up the air.

Finally Miss Gellner moved us into the concert room. We’d each been assigned one talent to demonstrate to give the clients a better taste of what they’d be buying. Four and Five would each be performing an adagio en pointe, a few girls were playing the flute and the cello, but the majority of us would be playing the piano or singing.

Maybe it should have bothered me that I wouldn’t stand out, but all I could think about as we sat down in the velvet seats arranged along the edges of the room was Debussy’s First Arabesque in E major, the song Miss Gellner had chosen for me to play. It wasn’t an elaborate song. I could play solos that were so much more difficult like the piece by Prokofiev that I learned last year, but I was glad she hadn’t chosen that one. Sure, I wouldn’t be able to show off my finger work playing the First Arabesque, but that didn’t matter. I could already feel the notes of the song moving up through my fingers and arms, a soft vibration that settled somewhere at the base of my neck like the warm hand of a friend.

We moved in order: One, Two, Three, Four, on and on until finally it was my turn. As I climbed the stairs to the small stage at the front of the room and sat on the tufted cushion of the piano bench, it was as if a white curtain had been drawn down between the crowd and me. I took a deep breath, savoring the moment before I placed my hands on the keys and started to play.

My fingers floated over the ivories for only a short four minutes, but my heart and mind quieted. I didn’t know if the other girls felt this way when they were playing, as if they were all alone and the rest of the world melted away leaving the air awash in soft color. I’d always been too embarrassed to ask. What if it meant that I had something wrong with me?

Those four minutes didn’t last long enough and before I knew it my fingers had stopped, hovering over the keys as the last notes died away. A polite spattering of applause brought me back to the room full of strangers. As I stood, I glanced out into the audience, allowing myself to imagine which of these people might be my future owner. Toward the back of the room I spotted the man with the salt and pepper hair and his wife. Neither of them was clapping, but for just a second he held my gaze and nodded ever so slightly.

That small gesture made my face burn with shame. He knew that I lied to him before when he’d asked me which one of my talents was my favorite. Of course it was piano, but I could never say it out loud. I was supposed to bring pleasure to my new masters, not to find pleasure for myself.

A cold sweat broke out across my back and I shivered, sitting back down on my chair to watch the remainder of the performances. If he could read me so easily, maybe everyone else could, too.

About the Author:

Kate Jarvik Birch is a visual artist, author, playwright, daydreamer, and professional procrastinator. As a child, she wanted to grow up to be either a unicorn or mermaid. Luckily, being a writer turned out to be just as magical. Her essays and short stories have been published in literary journals including Indiana Review and Saint Ann’s Review. She lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband and three kids. To learn more visit www.katejarvikbirch.com

Chloe always dreamed of visiting the ocean, and now the
ocean is the only place she has left to go. Trapped in the form of a mermaid
and on the run from the Sylphaen, her best chance for safety lies in traveling
with Zeke to his underwater home and staying under his protection there.

Leaving isn’t easy, however. Her best friend doesn’t know where she’s gone, and her family doesn’t either. She’s been forced to abandon
Noah, the boy she’s liked for years and who she’s just discovered likes her too.
She only hopes Zeke’s people will help her so she can return soon.

But when conspiracies follow her and people start to die,
safety becomes harder to find than ever. The Sylphaen are coming. They’re more
powerful than she could have imagined.

Skye Malone is a fantasy and paranormal romance author,
which means she spends most of her time not-quite-convinced that the things she
imagines couldn’t actually exist.

Born and raised in central Illinois, she hopes someday to
travel the world – though in the meantime she’ll take any story that whisks her
off to a place where the fantastic lives inside the everyday. She loves strong
and passionate characters, complex villains, and satisfying endings that stay
with you long after the book is done. An inveterate writer, she can’t go a day
without getting her hands on a keyboard, and can usually be found typing away
while she listens to all the adventures unfolding in her head.

Skye also writes YA urban fantasy as Megan Joel Peterson and
is the author of The Children and the Blood trilogy.

Running away from home was never Chloe Kowalski’s plan. Neither was ending up the target of killers, or having her body change in unusual ways. She only wanted a vacation, someplace far from her crazy parents and their irrational fear of water. She only wanted to do something normal for once, and maybe get to know her best friend’s hot stepbrother a bit better at the same time.

But the first day she goes out on the ocean, strange things start to happen. Dangerous things that should be impossible. Things to which ‘normal’ doesn’t even begin to apply.

Now madmen are hunting her. A mysterious guy with glowing blue eyes is following her. And her best friend’s stepbrother seems to be hiding secrets all his own.

It was supposed to be a vacation. It’s turning out to be a whole lot more.

Why did I pick up this book?

Well, as the title suggests, I signed up for this book tour and since I’m going to write a review for this book, I received an E-ARC of the book and read it on my iPhone.

The Plot:

Since I have not read any books about sirens/mermaids, I can’t really say much about the plot. But overall I felt that the flow and pacing was good and I was glad that the book kept up the suspense in me or I would have put it away. In terms of the plot’s originality, I can’t comment much. However, the author did create new names for the different species of sirens/mermaids and I felt that on that part it was worth pointing out. And i daresay, the names are rather original and fresh.

The Characters:

Since this the first book in a series, I would say that I was not really connected to them as we are still getting to know them and events are happening so I guess that by the second book I would feel some sort of connection and have deeper feelings for them. Overall I felt that the characters were great. We have the bad side, the neutral and the good. So we have a good blend of them.

Rating: 4/5 stars

About Skye

Author Biography: Skye Malone is a fantasy and paranormal romance author, which means she spends most of her time not-quite-convinced that the things she imagines couldn’t actually exist.

Born and raised in central Illinois, she hopes someday to travel the world – though in the meantime she’ll take any story that whisks her off to a place where the fantastic lives inside the everyday. She loves strong and passionate characters, complex villains, and satisfying endings that stay with you long after the book is done. An inveterate writer, she can’t go a day without getting her hands on a keyboard, and can usually be found typing away while she listens to all the adventures unfolding in her head.

Skye also writes YA urban fantasy as Megan Joel Peterson and is the author of The Children and the Blood trilogy.

Mara Dyer knows she isn’t crazy. She knows that she can kill with her mind, and that Noah can heal with his. Mara also knows that somehow, Jude is not a hallucination. He is alive. Unfortunately, convincing her family and doctors that she’s not unstable and doesn’t need to be hospitalised isn’t easy. The only person who actually believes her is Noah. But being with Noah is dangerous and Mara is in constant fear that she might hurt him. She needs to learn how to control her power, and fast! Together, Mara and Noah must try and figure out exactly how Jude survived when the asylum collapsed, and how he knows so much about her strange ability…before anyone else ends up dead!

My Thoughts:

Why did I pick up this book?

I read the first book not too far back last year somewhere in September and it was the one of my favorites for that year and I though I could not wait to get into its sequel, I still did not manage to read it until recently. And yeap, as expected the second was much more better than the first and I cant wait to discuss it with you all.

The Plot:

So it continues from where book 1 left us and Mara was now in the hospital, sedated, and her dad was still recuperating from the accident. So due to the bizarre police report that Mara Dyer made, Dr. Kells came in and suggested that Mara goes to Horizons and see if she improves. Of course Mara would not want to do that as that would mean not seeing Noah and she also dont want to stay in Horizons for who knows how long and away from her parents. So, after some discussion, Mara will go to Horizons in the day and home in the evening. And stuff gets intense when she meets Phoebe another patient at Horizons. OMG Phoebe just creeps me put. She puts on a facade of an innocent girl but inside, she’s outright creepy. I really liked how the story went and progressed. It picked up speed and though I was dying to know what was happening, sadly exams and submission deadlines came in and I dont really have time to find out what happens. I really like the pacing and the conclusion was a huge bang. It was not a cliffhanger but at the end of this book questions were answered and I can’t wait to see Mara in action again.

The Characters:

We were introduced to people who are like Mara and they seem pretty sane to me. Except for Phoebe. I really loved how Michelle Hodkin had a personality for each character and I really feel so much more and I was really into the book. The great characters were what made the plot stand out even more. I could not ask for better characters even Jude is a total criminal with no essence of humanity in him at all. And Phoebe, the attention seeking girlwho is being used by the real villain, I’m just blown by how creepy and crazy she was. And Mara, she’s still hanging it there despite what’s she gone through and though she breaks down, she doesn’t give up. And of course with Noah beside her, she’s even stronger.

The writing:

I felt that the writing style here is much more intense because of the nature of the plot and I really love how the language flows. It is very coherent and it was so easy and fun to read and understand the message the author is trying to bring across. I guess this is another element that makes this book sooo sooo enjoyable and I’m just surprised at how it was better than the first.

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her-East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.

My Thoughts:

Why did I pick up this book?

I have heard people talking about this series since last year and the reviews I read were mainly positive. I mentioned in previous reviews before that I’m wary of those over-hyped books as I had bad experiences with some of them. I’m glad that this book did not disappoint me mainly because my expectations weren’t that high despite the hype.

The Plot:

The book is set in America and a few years after young children started dying due to a widespread disease however, some children did not die of it. And children who were suspected of carrying the disease were brought to camps to be quarantined. However, we find out that that’s not true as the government were actually afraid of the children who weren’t infected or immune to the disease. So Ruby, she’s was sent to the camp at 10 and she lied to one of the scientists’ that she was a Green. The children were classified according to their abilities. So the greens were the most normal among all the other colors. So in fact Ruby is an Orange meaning she has paranormal powers which was luckily dormant during her stay in the camp. One day, someone from the inside helped her escape and she claims to be against the government and there to help her. They were about to bring Ruby to their place but Ruby escaped from them and decided to join a gang of other kids who were on the run. Although they said that they do not have the resources to keep her with them, the group allowed her to stay and follow them. These kids were on a quest to find the Slip Kid hoping to contact their family and also to find solace. During their search for the Slip Kid, Ruby learnt more about herself and the world outside.

I felt that it was kind of slow-paced but it was essential that the world-building has a stable foundation before moving on. I kind of got bored after a while, but soon enough there was action going on and things started to move pretty quickly. I find the pacing really comfortable as there are breaks in-between fast-paced chapters and I dont feel that the author is rushing through the plot nor is it too slow to bore me. I really want to find out more about the disease and why is the government so afraid of the kids who were immune to it.

The Characters:

We have got great characters in this book and I really love Ruby’s and Liam’s conversations as well as Chubs. Their conversation really brought me closer to them and I felt more connected to them and could relate to them more. Then there’s Zu, she reminds me of Rue from the Hunger Games 9I’m not sure why). When Ruby and Zu were trying out clothes they really look like sisters playing dress-up which was really sweet. Although Zu does not talk, I really admire the special way they communicate with each other.

The writing:

It was pretty easy to get accustomed to and it was a breeze for me while reading. I wished there were alternating POVs as I felt that it would give the story a much more in-depth and fuller plot.

What do I look for in the sequel?

I wish to learn more about the children’s abilities and how is it related to their immunity to the disease. I also wish to know more about what the government is really plotting and why are they afraid of the kids with immunity to the disease.

Harper Price, peerless Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, Harper’s destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super strength and lethal fighting instincts.

Just when life can’t get any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she’s charged to protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy and possibly Harper’s least favorite person. But things get complicated when Harper starts falling for him–and discovers that David’s own fate could very well be to destroy Earth.

With snappy banter, cotillion dresses, non-stop action and a touch of magic, this new young adult series from bestseller Rachel Hawkins is going to make y’all beg for more.

My Thoughts:

Why did I pick up this book?

I bought this book as there was a read-a-long for this book then. Another reason was that I heard amazing things about Rachel Hawkin’s Hex Hall series and I have yet to read them. I decided to join the bandwagon, read it and here’s my review!

The Plot:

Its been a while I read such books and it took me a while to adapt to the situation in this book. And its pretty cool with paranormal elements inside. So Harper is the school’s Homecoming queen and she has top positions in the school’s various clubs. When she was crowned Homecoming Queen, despite receiving her crown she was trapped in the washroom with the school’s janitor was being chased and attacked by her history teacher. Harper was a kick-ass though she was the school’s stellar student. She killed her history teacher with her heels. I liked the fact that we jump straight into action and I felt that it was a great start. However, I felt that it started off too quickly cause I felt that it kind of got boring at the later part. However, I kind of like the paranormal factor in this book. With the Oracle, the Paladin and the Mage. I also liked the plot twists in the story and my predictions were mostly proved wrong. That shows that how unpredictable this book was written.

The Characters:

The part which I looked most forward to was Harper and David’s conversation. They are like having a constant debate most of the time and its full of wit and humor and this lightens up the mood in the book. I felt that Harper should have broken up with her boyfriend earlier instead of before the cotillion. I felt that it was very impromptu and abrupt. Their relationship was already falling into pieces and although Harper wants to salvage it, I guess she does not 100% wants to save it. If she really wanted to save that relationship, she would have abandoned that whole Paladin duty and work on her relationship. And hence I think she should not have dragged their breakup and instead done a clean one so it would not affect her Paladin duty.

The writing:

I really enjoy Rachel Hawkins’ writing style. It has humor and wit in it and reading it was really enjoyable. And this makes me want to quickly dive into the Hex Hall series before the sequel of Rebel Belle comes out.

What do I look for in the sequel?

I would expect more explanations about the whole Oracle stuff and I’m guessing it would be rather information concentrated and hence it might make the story dry and I might get bored. But I’m really looking forward to reading the sequel:)

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”, she speaks many languages – not all of them human – and her bright blue hairactually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

My Thoughts:

Why did I pick up this book?

I have heard mostly good stuff about the series and I just could not take the fact that I have not put in any effort to get the book using whichever means. I saw it available at the library and I told myself Get the book already and stop contemplating.

The Plot:

This book is insane. There’s reincarnation with chimera and angels and the whole teeth thing. I loved it how Laini Taylor gel them all together (though it was confusing at times but I still want to know what will happen) and I would not mind if the book had a few more pages so that all this new info sink in. It is not based on any mythology that existed but a whole new world Laini Taylor created. So I’ll try to summarise this whole concept behind the book without much confusion but warning its gonna spoil you.

So our MC Karou she is an art student in Prague and she carries a sketchbook with her all the time. In her sketchbook, there are drawings of mythical creatures which she claims she has seen before. She has no idea where her origins were and she is raised by four chimera. She runs errands for the Brimstone (the head of the 4) like going to black market auctions and getting teeth from trader. So we have no idea what these teeth are for until the very last 10 -15% of the book. SO what’s in the middle. Basically interaction with our next MC. He’s an angel looking for Karou (his reasons were not explicitly explained). So Akiva once loved a chimera Madirgal and they had an illicit love affair. He felt remorse because Madirgal died because of him as later explained in the book, he was the one who approached her knowing the dangers of doing so.

And Karou was getting to know him and Akiva’s siblings to get away from Karou or history would repeat itself. And their commotion got the cops involved and the angels didn’t care and took off the glamour on their wings which shocked on lookers. Akiva’s siblings want to hurt Karou but she got away and Akiva managed to catch up with her.

When Akiva saw Karou’s wishbone, it then occurred to him that Karou was not human and he told the story of him and Madrigal.

SO the angels and chimera were always at war and Brimstone, decided to let the warriors who died in the battles to reincarnate and for that period the chimera always won. And he mentioned before, in order for him to use magic he has to pay a price which is pain. And the pain comes from people who have their teeth extracted. And also the teeth are used with other gemstones to complete create a body for the souls to go into and their memories still intact.

In Karou’s case she does not have the Hamas on her hand and she cannot reincarnate. That’s what the other Chimera believed. But Brimstone knows that it has nothing to do with that and its got to do with the will of the souls. During her execution, Brimestone managed to collect her soul and put her in Karou’s body and also erased her memories. And the book end when Karou made that connection.

Overall: The plot is just so crazy that I can’t imagine how deep this book went. The pacing was great and I can’t wait to know what happens next since Karou and Akiva wants to end the war but Brimestone is now dead.

The Characters:

I don’t really know them yet as you can see from my thoughts of the plot, the book has more of plot than characters. But I have a feeling that I will love them and feel attached to them in the sequels. Karou and Akiva’s may become lovers because Karou may recollect back her memories and the relationship may rekindle as Akiva still had feelings for Madrigal/ Karou. There is a lot of mystery revolving around the war between Chimera and Angel. I love Brimstone, he brings Karou up like his daughter and tried to protect her from her past life. But sadly he’s dead no so are the other Chimera. Though Karou is not really their child they still took care of her and even let her live a normal human life which I felt was really nice of them.

The writing:

So the book is written in third person perspective and alternates between characters and time. It was kind of confusing as the author did not state which character is it written from and it took a while to digest and get used to. There was a portion when Akiva told Karou his past, we sort of time travelled back to then and it was written mostly in the third person perspective of Madrigal. I think that’s very cool instead of Akiva said/told. That part felt really alive and real it was as if it was happening at the moment an very realistic and more flashback-ish feeling. I really look forward to the sequels to more of such writing. Its intricate and almost flawless at the same time.

What do I look for in the sequel?

I doubt Brimstone and the rest are really dead as they played quite a portion in this book. I’m looking forward to them finding out the cause of the war and the route to finding peace for both sides. I’m looking forward to knowing Karou and Akiva better and Karou getting back her memories and another realisation/ theory strikes her. I really can’t wait to read the sequels. Now the third one is already out, I guess I’m going to marathon through the two.

Rating: 5/5 stars

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About Me

Lil' Book Owl is a blog owned by Belinda (18) who loves reading. I wanted to share my thoughts on the books I read and I did some research on how people blog about books/ write their reviews before starting my own one. A the beginning stages, the blog went through various changes and I have decided to settle down with this. I started blogging back in feb/mar 2013 and up till today, I did not regret my decision.